Paws and Relax

Everyone Needs a Little Puppy Love

As the semester comes to a close, I know that a majority of us can’t wait to go home and sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing for a week or two. But what would going home be if you didn’t spend that time on the couch with your animal?

I love cuddling with my dog, Pepi!

I know one of the most exciting things about going home is being greeting by my dog! He is always happy to see me and always willing to have a comfy cuddle session on the couch. There is nothing quite like going home after a stressful week of classes to find someone that is going to be happy to see you no matter what your GPA is.

Now you don’t have to travel all the way home to get a puppy session in! In January, Health Services will offer a new service called Paws & Relax that aims at helping cut out the stress of school, by providing visits with Hamilton the service dog!

Hamilton (a.k.a. Hammy) is a 4 year old, 85 pound, Great Dane mix who was adopted from the Houston Humane Society as a puppy. Hamilton is a certified Canine Good Citizen (CGC), through the American Kennel Club and he is a certified therapy dog through the national organization.

A few weeks ago I went to the Kingsbury library as Hamilton and his caretaker, Maria Caplan (who is also the Nutrition Educator/Counselor at Health Services), walked around the library and met up with a few students. As Hamilton happily trotted around the library, eager to sniff everything that he could, the students at the library were so excited to see him.

Hamilton and I at the Kingsbury library!

For those of us who live on campus, missing our dogs or pets is one of the most difficult parts of living away from home. The joy on everyone’s face when they saw Hamilton was so awesome and I know that it was the perfect study break. Something about the joy dogs have for seeing random strangers is so satisfying!

Next semester when you find yourself stressing out , you can make an individual appointment with Hamilton. Just go to the Health Services website and schedule a time block to spend with Hamilton to Paws & Relax.